Sure would be nice to have some discussion here instead of the what's best threads

The problem with "Best of" status is price, level of restoration (considering age of many of our toys) and most importantly, the level of experience that one has with higher quality gear.

Stay here long enough, you'll start to notice certain folks who know what they're talking about.

When I'm looking for a solid amplifier, I take to heart the words of Echowars, or blhagstrom.

If it is vinyl playback, Mr. Pig is an expert. Tuners?? PunkerX.

And so forth.
 
Stay here long enough, you'll start to notice certain folks who know what they're talking about.
I'm still learning about who to read for the truth for some things. Seems your choices are for repair/restoration on electronics, sound quality on turntables and technical information and other aspects on the tuners. Be nice to have of each specialty, repair/restoration, sound quality and technical among others represented in discussions. Sometimes there are. I just haven't been here long enough to known all those good sources of information.
 
OK, I will try. I sold my ARC LS15 Preamplifier (4 6922 tubes) to move to a LS16MkII (2 6H30 Tubes) which is the current tube used by ARC.
I'll try too; your ARC gear is newer but the category is 'Vintage' so here goes... I had 3 ARC preamps (6, if Mk1/2/3 count). First was the SP6. I had to replace 2 caps in the power supply but then it was exceptional. Great phono stage. Its sound was 'Vintage' in the sense it didn't have the clinical accuracy in vogue today. Some might even call it 'warm' and 'musical', or other pejoratives — but that's fine with me, as I prefer my Music whole and alive, not dissected. I never should have sold it, but I got a better tube preamp, so good it may be the best preamp ever made. And I got it real cheap too because it's very obscure. But then I got a huge cash offer for it, and foolishly sold it too.

So in the end, I had neither. Maybe it's an Audiophiliac disorder, or just me, but one has to know when to stand pat: you have a winning hand.

The next ARC was the SP8. It wasn't as good as the 6. There may have been something 'off' with that particular unit, but I returned it to the dealer.

Finally, the SP9. Didn't like it and returned it. The dealer said "Try the Mk 2! It just came in." Took that one back to him too. A few months later he called to offer me the new Mk3 — I guess he really wanted me to like at least one of his preamps — and that too didn't make the grade. I used to read that ARC used to merely change tube-brands, and call it a new 'Mark', or affix a letter — they did that with the SP6, which became 6B, 6C etc. Mine had no letter because it was the first — just as the original movie 'Rocky' was not called 'Rocky 1'.
 
Great a couple of meaningful posts about ARC preamps lost in a thread from BS that is just him having a fit about no good discussions in this mis-titled forum. This is part of the reason why this forum is stagnant and doesn't have anything going on except the wow and best threads.

Here is what I'm gonna do. I gonna ask both @ehoove and @bimasta to copy their post in this thread and put it in the ARC preamp discussion thread I started. Maybe this will get a discussion going about some gear, sound qualities and other attributes that can give folks an idea about this Top Performers, the good stuff in Electronics whether it was made yesterday or last century.
 
Last edited:
And now for the obigatory great picture ... drumroll please!
If I'm not mistaken, that is Tomita's Bermuda Triangle record, pressed on coral-colored vinyl. (I thought I read it also was pressed on an aqua-colored vinyl as well.)
 
Hey, maybe we could start a forum about the best vinyl to use for vinyls ... ;-}

If you read the jacket, it's some special formulation uber-vinyl as well as colorful. Extremely clean pressing it is ...
 
I would like some advice if anyone feels in the mood? I have a modest system in my workroom that has a Rotel ra820 amp that I purchased from new back in the 80s, I would like to upgrade it but I am not sure with what, I need an older amp with about 30wpc (classic) that is of good quality but won't bankrupt me, I spend hours searching eBay and when I find something I like I look for a review on it, it would help if I knew what was quality and what was junk. I picked up a NAD c326BEE and after a few months, I decided I didn't like it as I felt it added too much colouration to the sound.
So if anyone has a good suggestion please advice me.
It would get more and better replies to have this post as a thread of its own probably in the Solid State forum. This forum is mislabeled but is used mostly for the best gear from back then. The preamps and power amps.
 
It would get more and better replies to have this post as a thread of its own probably in the Solid State forum. This forum is mislabeled but is used mostly for the best gear from back then. The preamps and power amps.

That post has been moved, and is now a new thread in General Audio Discussion
Regards,
Jim
 
I have a Luxman L30 tucked away and not used for about 30+ years, from memory I think it sounded ok back then, would love to see if it still works,
at present and for the foreseeable future that is sadly not possible. One day......
 
I have a Luxman L30 tucked away and not used for about 30+ years, from memory I think it sounded ok back then, would love to see if it still works,
at present and for the foreseeable future that is sadly not possible. One day......
Hans' Luxman site has an L-30 rebuild, upgrade page on it. Seems these are very well liked amps.
 
something fun for everyone, sole self interest is boring, folks have forgotten how to talk joy in general.
hope this link below is a giggle and brings hope as well to others.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/nad-1240-pre-amp-speachless.860208/
Yup, someone is very happy to have that unit in pristine condition gracing their rig. yeah, I did that.

Don't let the folks see you talked about the sound of break in. Many say it ain't a thing. It took at least 5 hours for a tube pre's coupling caps to allow the unit to sound good enough to listen to. I pulled if from the rig a couple times before letting it play while I was not home, coming back to a fine sounding unit.
 
Don't let the folks see you talked about the sound of break in. Many say it ain't a thing

never lets someones inability stifle your ability, period. whats more important to notice is folks who can't hear a difference are not very kind about it, thats whats important.
kindness is the most important thing.

Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century, thats very cool plus you know it's broke in. :bigok:

I can't believe some of the deals on equipment folks are getting cause it not fashionable anymore.
while i am hesitant to trust used speakers, boy are there some deals to be had.
some fella on another thread just bought a moon lander of a tape deck,,,see this -

 
Does aural memory count .. ???

Never owned it but the sound of a pair of Mark Levinson ML2's running Martin Logan's sticks in my head to this day as the definition of accuracy with an irreplaceable sweet, but not tubed roundness .... They were delicious !!
 
Does aural memory count .. ???

Sure, I would like to see this forum where we don't have to be assaulted by receivers are the best for sound reproduction and can discsuss the crap that sounded really good to us. Now putting it in this thread, well you have killed much discussion of it because this is a thread about why we can't have a discussion of the things that sound good instead of just posting it in the WOW! thread there folks are blown away by how a chunk of gear looks and don't talk about sound quality.

It would be interesting and maybe discussion provoking if you were to post that aural memory with details as best you can remember so folks could find it and comment by making it a thread starting post here in this forum about the good stuff.
 
Sure, I would like to see this forum where we don't have to be assaulted by receivers are the best for sound reproduction and can discsuss the crap that sounded really good to us. Now putting it in this thread, well you have killed much discussion of it because this is a thread about why we can't have a discussion of the things that sound good instead of just posting it in the WOW! thread there folks are blown away by how a chunk of gear looks and don't talk about sound quality.

It would be interesting and maybe discussion provoking if you were to post that aural memory with details as best you can remember so folks could find it and comment by making it a thread starting post here in this forum about the good stuff.


Sticks in my head as the sweetest sounding amp that I ever heard .. that was 25 years ago ..
but I was familiar with the sound of the Martin Logans, and brutally accurate dipoles were the perfect evaluation tool..
It was no contest when the Rowland was swapped in ..
Tubes are good but a bit rounded on the bottom .. I ended up mostly preferring Magnapan's but that was because they were a bit softer and more tolerant of lesser amps than the Levinson .. and lesser amps were all I could afford.

If money were irrelevant, I'd have ended up with the ML2 and Martin Logans ..
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom